Remember Me Ch. 02

A/N: All rights reserved.

This is a separate story from Twisted Royal. This is also a different Dante. Enjoy!

oOo

Chapter 002: Au revoir Bahamud

oOo

Elliot wasn't sure what he had been expecting when his Commander had assigned him the task of finding and capturing Dante Reed. The knowledge that she was still presumed alive and WELL had stunned him. For the last eight years he had been in grief over losing one of his comrades; only to realize it was all for naught.

From the report his Commander had handed to him, it was apparent she had been in hiding for the past eight years. She had killed two officers that had been sent to restrain and bring her back to the base in Hime. Not only that but she had stolen several identification cryptics and had been traveling between nations, keeping her own identity hidden.

It was evident that someone had been assisting her, but that person was unidentified and from Elliots observations; powerful. So powerful if he or she could assist an agent in avoiding the governments radar. Dante had been tracked of course, but somehow they always managed to lose her each and every time.

But not this time.

Elliot was fuming. He had a right to be angry. A right to feel betrayed. He had thought his friendship with Dante had outweighed her secretive nature, and he had always assumed she would go to him for anything.

Sure, he didn't know why she had ran off. People had speculated that she had been secretly insane and some even had the gall to accuse her of working for F.L.E.X. He hadn't believed them of course. He had did his own digging for information and the most plausible explanation was that she had been blackmailed or...or tricked.

Dante had never done anything without reason before. He had known her for too long. He knew there had to be an explanation. Elliot cared too much for her to just throw away their ten year friendship. Crystal may have given up on her, and Andre may have been too preoccupied with his own stupid problems to care. But Elliot did care. He just didn't show it the way others did. Of course he was far from completely forgiving Dante. Though she had been a righteous and amazing woman eight years ago, the Dante he saw now was different.

When he had caught her trying to escape from the squad that had been sent to capture her, he had seen her changes right away. That young and innocent woman he had been friends with had a different look in her eye, a different aura about her. There was something cold and something broken he saw when he looked at her. He had tried to ignore it and stay focused on the matter at hand; alerting the Commander and the council that he had found her, while also making sure she was subdued. But now that he had the time to look at her, really look at her...

He realized that the Dante he once knew was gone. Someone had changed her. He couldn't bring himself to believe that she had transformed on her own.

By who, he didn't know. But now that she was in front of him, now that he knew she was alive...

Things were only going to get alot worse. For the both of them.

oOo

Dantes entire body was tense as she sat wedged between two burly soldiers. Two soldiers whose holstered guns looked mighty intimidating upclose. Her rifle had been taken away from her and now she was in her smoldering living room under the even more heated gaze of over twenty guards.

Her living room had been extremely hot and crowded enough already with just her. But now...

It was torture.

''Well tie me up and send me to Timbuktu because I. am. screwed.'' Dante muttered under her breath as Elliot paced around the room lividly, his raven ponytail swinging from behind him.

He had been that way for quite a bit. After he had caught her before she could escape, Elliot had cuffed her and dragged her through the house, shouting coordinates and orders in the large communicator earpiece he wore. Her wrist was still sore from how tightly he had gripped it, as if was afraid that if he let her go she might vanish in thin air.

After that he had shoved her on the couch she was currently sitting on and left the house for several minutes before coming back to check on her...only to leave the house again. Thankfully the window in the living room had its drapes drawn so she could see the activity going on outside on the desert floor.

Needless to say, she was sort of flattered. To send so many security agents after her proved that the agency viewed her as a valuable asset. Of course that flattery was squashed once she remembered the consequences of being an unauthorized runaway.

An unauthorized elite runaway at that.

Once again. She was screwed.

And suddenly Dante was ripped from her thoughts as Elliot let out a loud curse. Several of the uniformed men turned an eye to him, but he only waved them off and spun in Dantes line of vision.

"You." Elliot snapped, pointing a gloved finger in her direction. His blue eyes seemed to flash behind his rimless glasses.

It took her a full five seconds to realize he was speaking to her and not the guards beside her.

"Who...me?" She asked politely, turning her best poker face on. She hadn't seen Elliot in years and yet she was still always stunned when he payed any amount of attention to her. Call it lingering puppy love. But hey, he was the enemy right now. Even if he used to be her best friend.

"Yes, you." Elliot grit out, his eyes roaming over her. He looked as if he was struggling to keep his composure. He must have been overwhelmed since they hadn't seen each other in years too.

The last time they had met each other had been during a victory speech in Hime, right after a successful infiltration mission in Monaco. He had invited her on a lunch date once they had been given their rewards and sent on their way.

Guilt swept through her chest as she remembered that particular event. But she pushed it away. No matter how much she cared for them; the people who were once her friends were blind puppets controlled by the government of Hime, trapped in a conspiracy that few spoke of.

She had contemplated revealing everything to them. But she knew it wouldn't have worked out. After all, ten years ago she wouldn't have believed the things she had seen. Shock had been her companion for months before she finally set it in her heart and mind to run.

She ran away instead of facing it. No matter what the hell those optimistic pep-talkers said, one person couldn't change the world. Not her. Not them. Not anyone. And as she mulled over this, her mood worsening by the second, Elliot continued to speak to her; oblivious to her daze.

"You look horrible Reed. You do realize that a Judge is on his way here right now? He can't see you like this." Elliots distant voice sounded in Dantes ears, once again interrupting her thoughts.

Looking up to meet his eyes Dante stared at him quizzically for a moment, trying to make sense of his words. When the meaning sunk in however she lost her confused look and her expression turned to one of flushed anger. Did he really think she cared how some uptight Judge who worked for the Hime government saw her?

Sure Judges were intimidating. They were the highest of the Elite and could kill her with one word to the firing squad. But if she was bold enough to defy them and their laws to go on the run, she wasn't going to become a wimp the second she was caught. Dante sent Elliot a mild glare that made a wave of surprise wash over his tanned face.

"Elliot." Dante began slowly as she crossed one leg over the other and leaned back. Stray curls fell into her eyes as she did so, and she lifted her thin brown fingers to brush them out of the way. "Look at me. Really look at me. Do you see the girl I was eight years ago?"

The question was simple. And yet by the look on Elliots face, Dante realized that asking such a thing from him was like asking him to set it into his mind that she really had changed. Eight years ago she had been a cheerful mask hiding her fear. Ten years ago she had been a gullible child who played soldier with the wolves.

And now she was something else entirely. And she knew Elliot could see that. But she also knew he didn't want to see. Despite her own beliefs, he still thought of her as a little sister. And who would want to believe their beloved sister had changed for the worse?

Elliots gaze was intense as he took a step closer to Dantes spot on the couch and leaned down. When his face was level with hers, Dante found herself struggling not to get lost in his eyes. Instead she gave him a stony look as he studied her. His eyes swept over every line, every dent, and every cut of her face, neck, and torso all the way to the tips of her toes..

Even though Dante had become the master of stoicness in her years of isolation, she felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her as Elliot leaned closer. If he had been this close to her ten years ago she would have turned crimson red instantly. She had more control over her emotions now of course, and her crush had subsided since he was taken (Though since she had been gone so long she wasn't sure if that was still the case).

But still, as Elliots all-knowing blue gaze swept over her, Dante was reminded of why she fell in love with him in the first place. She found it cruel that they were pushed even farther apart now, since she was now a fugitive and he her captor.

"No." Elliots deep voice echoed in her ears as he suddenly reared back from her. "No, I don't see the girl I knew eight years ago." His voice and his expression were now so cold that it froze the blood in her veins.

Despite knowing the answer was inevitable, Dante still felt a pang of hurt strike her. It was almost as if he had slapped her. Clutching her fists to her sides so as not to let them tremble visibly, Dante sent Elliot the fakest smile she could muster, her brow cocked up in mock amusement.

"Well, that's good because I'm not that same girl." Her voice shook; betraying her inner emotions. Once agan blue clashed with gray, and this time Dante held his gaze all the while trying not to let her tears fall. A long moment of tense silence passed.

Elliot opened his mouth to speak. But another voice in the room rang out before he could reply.

"And such a shame Mrs.Reed. Such a shame indeed." The feminine twinge in the voice alerted Dante immediately to who it was.

Elliot, Dante, and the guards all turned their gazes toward the owner of the voice.

Judge Estafana stood at the entrance to the living room, her silvery curls spilling from the dark headpiece she wore. Her arms were folded and she leaned against the bloodwood walls, a cool smirk on her pale lips.

Dantes dark skin paled at the sight of the woman before her. Of course the look of pure fear that passed over Dantes face wasn't lost on Elliot, or even Estafana herself. In fact the notion only made the immortally beautiful womans smirk grow wider.

Dante whirled on Elliot, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I thought you said a male judge was coming." She hissed, her eyes darting between Estafana and the bewildered bespectacled man in front of her.

"Your Honor..." Elliot too looked as if he hadn't expected Estafana to be present. Assessing the guards reactions as well, Dante realized that was exactly what Estafana wanted.

"Now, now. Don't stare at me like a fish out of water." Estafana nagged playfully as she took a step further into the lounge, her silken robes flowing around her legs.

Dante stiffened as Estafanas gaze swept around the enclosure, taking in its cluttered appearance. Silence overtook the room as the taller woman stood there like a beautiful statue disdaining its surroundings, and eventually Estafanas steely eyes met Dantes.

"You've been busy." Estafana remarked coolly, her lips curling into a knowing smile that made Dante want to hurl out of her chair and punch the powerful judge in the face.

She could have handled any other person except for Estafana. The woman could break anyone and she would take pleasure out of it. No one could hide anything from her, and Dante had been particularly grateful when she managed to run off because it meant she didn't have to see that monster everyday.

But Estafana was like a guilty conscious. It showed up when you didn't want it to. And Estafana knew it too, if the unspoken message in her eyes was anything to go by.

'Scared, aren't you?' She seemed to say. 'You can run and run, but you'll never escape from me. Makes your blood boil dosn't it?'

Dante had to use all of her willpower to stay still in her seat. Elliot was eyeing her as if her reaction to Estafana might give him some answers. But he didn't say anything. No one spoke in the presence of a judge unless they were required to do so.

Finally, Estafana broke her gaze from Dantes and let out a dramatic sigh as she turned to the body guards behind her. Dante hadn't noticed the large bulky men before. Estafana whispered something to one of them, causing him to nod and gesture for the other guards to leave the room.

Dante blinked profusely as the room emptied until it was only her, Estafana, and Elliot. For some reason the lack of guards made Dante feel even more vulnerable. Her day had started out so normal and dull. And now eight years of isolation were wasted like a fresh cake thrown into a trash can.

Dante couldn't even consider contacting her source for help because she was cornered into a dead-end. She'd have to wait. He would realize something was up when her location showed up on his screen, if Estafana decided to transport her to Hime that is.

And then he would come up with a plan to rescue her. But for now Dante was stuck in the same vacancy with one of the people who caused her to run off in the first place. And as that person walked elegantly across the room and sat on one of the chairs across from her, Dante held back a sneer.

"I guess it's time to make a deal." Estafana said softly, breaking the silence with her gloved hands clasped in front of her. All eyes went to the only fugitive in the room, and the room became that degree hotter.

Dantes eyes narrowed.

oOo